Why did you pick Shulk?

[MM3K]

I like characters who use swords, and I was so impressed by Shullk's reveal trailer, that I just had to try him out, and he is really fun to use, great range, solid moves, not to mention the usefulness of the Monado Arts, he's a very fun character to use, plus his accent's pretty funny, as others have said.

I haven't played Xenoblade Chronicles yet, but I've yet to hear something bad about the game, so I'm holding on untill the n3DS version of the game comes out, 'cause I want to get one anyway (I mean, c'mon, a C-stick and better all-around speed, what's not to like?). Also, like most re-releases, it's bound to have some new features, so that's gonna be pretty cool, too.

 

[Kraryo]

At first, I wasn't looking forward to Shulk because I had no prior attachment nor knowledge of him. Upon getting SBB3DS, I decided to main Robin solely for reminding me of the character I most want playable in Smash, Krystal.

After unlocking every character with Robin, I decided to do Classic with everyone. When it got to Shulk's turn, I was surprised with how he felt. I assumed that the Monado Arts would be a nightmare for me to use, because my colorblindness makes the symbols look the same-y. In reality, I learned to change to whatever form I wanted from one Classic playthrough.

That was when I became genuinely interested in Shulk and his game. While there have been other multiform characters in Smash, I feel that he's the best executed. Melee!Sheik and Zamus are flat out superior to their bulkier counterparts, Zamus (without FS) can't switch to Samus for tanking, switching between forms in Brawl takes forever, and Pokemon Trainer's various issues. Shulk on the other hand, does the multiform character archetype right. All of the Arts have their purpose (except maybe Decisive/Hyper Shield) and changing forms doesn't give the opponent a free smash attack.

I foresaw Shulk (thanks to leaks), but I didn't foresee that I would main him.

 

[DavemanCozy]

I've played and own Xenoblade myself. I still have yet to even come close to completing (so much to do!).

I decided to try him in this game, and I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. Not only does he have the best range in the game (just standing in the center of Battlefield threatens to cover every option except the edges of the stage), his Monado Art is one of the biggest game changing moves. It gives Shulk a way to adapt to every matchup, and provides him with tons of options. His N-air, F-air, B-air, and Tilt attacks are also some of my favorite ones.

Overall, I like him because he has a very versatile playstyle.

 

[TechieWidget]

Normally, I don't play as sword characters but Shulk stood out to me out of all of them. He is a great character to play, because of his Monado Arts and he has excellent reach with his Monado Blade, esp in the air and when doing tilts on the ground.

He is good at short-hopping, and wonderful to use for gimping characters like Lucina and Ike who have bad recovery.

His learning curve can be steep, since players need to understand the strengths and weaknesses for each Monado art. However, once you take the time to learn how to take full use of each Monado Art, he becomes really fun. I have been maining Shulk since I got the game, and I have yet to truly master in using him.

 

[SuperHyperMegaTurbo]

It looks like I'm not alone in having Shulk sneak up on me.
I was really looking forward to Sonic, Ike, and Yoshi being good this time, and I'm certainly not disappointed, but...

Well, Shulk is amazing.
I really can't say anything more than that, he's just incredibly fun to play, and he is certainly the character I am most skilled with (and have played most, about as much as all others combined) in my three days of having the game. I rarely lose a For Glory match with him, and my friends don't really know how to deal with my Monado Art shenanigans.

I think one of the main reasons I like Shulk is his sheer mobility. Even without Arts, running and jumping around and slashing all over the place is easy. His jumps are fairly high, and his airspeed is pretty good. Add in the jump and speed Arts, and you can basically dance around any other character, beating them in the air or ground, whichever they're not as good at... and I don't think anyone is as good in the air. With jump Art, Shulk's airspeed, jump speed, and falling speed are all so fast that it seems like you're playing with a crazy Brawl hack or something, you can basically fly around better than any other character.

Add onto all this that you can retain his normal physics (good dash, jump and airspeed) and have either increased damage or knockback? Count me in.
Shield isn't even necessary with all the other amazingness, but it certainly feels epic to survive beyond 200% using it while still trading significant blows with the opponent. I think I've only died once while in Shield mode... that silly range on Palutena's up smash...

Oh, and I completed Classic on 9.0 difficulty with Shulk, too. Couldn't do nearly as well as anyone else...

In short, yes, I am really feeling it.

 

[Ephemiel]

I HATED him when i first used him, his Monado arts felt weird to me and it felt so strange using him. Some time later i gave him another chance, started to learn him and now he's my main. I love his range, his power, his adaptability with his arts and come on, that side taunt, are you really feeling it? REALLY FEELING IT?

 

[spiderfreak1011]

Because, i recently started looking into Xenoblade (thank my friends and Chuggaaconroy) and i think it's an amazing game from what i've seen so far, and i like Shulk's character alot. Plus, it kind of seems like my thing to go for the most obscure character (as in the majority doesn't know who they are and what game they come from, not counting the Classic/Joke characters), i did that with LUcas, so here i gave Shulk a chance. Now he's basically my main, and i love wielding the Monado's Power in smash. : D

 

[rpgcaster]

I freaking love Xenoblade. So him along side my other main Palutena were the characters I was most hyped to play. Unfortunately, I didn't really know how to play with him properly for a while and got frustrated, bunching him to practice more Palutena.

Recently picked him up after observing some really good Shulk players in matches and finally understand how to use him... well better than before. Still learning~

 

[Linkman806]

Well i had to choose a new main because they dropped Lucas RIP. And i don't like ness's yo yo. I love xenoblade so i thought why not. I absolutely love his shift change ability. It gives me what i need when i need it. His counter is amazing as well i love to mess with my friends when i verse them when and if i use a counter they usually flinch on attacking when fighting me. Also i love standing near an edge and they are hang on it and they jump. I just up-B and knock them out. Good times!

 

[DonteB84]

His monado arts. It seems to add so much depth to the character. Fun to learn, hard to master...

 

[Sane.]

Sadly never had the pleasure of playing Xenoblade (but I plan to now!). Picked Shulk because I love spacing characters with a strong SH-ground game and can ledge gaurd well, which should be quite apparently by my mains.
Also, the monado arts are an amazing concept and so very fun. Adds a lot more depth to Shulk as a character.

 

[Zatchiel]

Not any reason that hasn't been stated previously. I love his Monado Arts and killing with him in any way always feels satisfying. The arts just open up so many possibilities for play that I find myself constantly experimenting.

Oh, and I also got kinda thrashed by a Shulk player while in a room with an online friend. Decided to give him a try myself and fell in love almost instantly.

 

[Jasku]

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[TWILTHERO]

I've wanted Shulk in Smash Bros. ever since I finished playing Xenoblade (loved the game; one of my favorite JRPGs ever); he was my most wanted newcomer, so you can just imagine my excitement when I found out he was "leaked" via Gematsu. When the Gematsu leak was "deconfirmed" with Robin being in instead of Chrom, I was getting worried that he might not be in afterall, but then he was leaked again with some gameplay footage and not too long after, the Shulk trailer came out, and, well, holy crap I was SO EXCITED. I think I watched the trailer like 20-30+ times that day lol.

Shulk's one of the most fun fighting game characters I've ever played. I love his long range in his Monado attacks, having something to use for almost any situation via his Monado Arts, and he's just an absolute blast to play as. I won't lie when I say characters like Diddy and Sheik absolutely frustrate me some times, but I'm not going to give up with Shulk, so I'm gonna keep practicing and training with the character until I fully master him.

Now it's Shulk time!

 

[Fernosaur]

Gonna be completely honest here. I mostly went for Shulk because of his twinky, shirtless good looks :'D.

But then! When I started reading about the Monado mechanics he became super interesting for me, because I always wanted a character that could change "modes" mid-battle with a neutral special, which would affect knockback and etc. As soon as I learned of the Monado I was hooked. Then I got curious about Xenoblade (I had never even heard of the game before the SSB leaks), got it, played through it, and liked it quite a bit! I can't say it's my super favorite game ever, but I've had some good fun with it. Playing with Shulk, he's not 100% my style of play, but I'm liking his moveset quite a bit most of the time :D.

 

[Zephil]

Because I finished Xenoblade and dat side taunt.

Talking seriously, IMO Shulk is the most dynamic character in the game and allows for many different ways of playing with him and I just love the FEEL of playing with him... I am sorry

Anyways I like Shulk's game, Shulk's playstyle, and Shulk's competitive viability in this game.

 

[MyNameIsEd]

Xenoblade is good xenoblade is life.

 

[Blazerator]

Because he is pretty much an Ike that takes more skill to use.

 

[cot(θ)]

I was really feeling it.

In all seriousness though, I picked him as a secondary because of his very unique playstyle - the same reason I play Megaman and Little Mac, and I'm planning on picking up Villager and Bowser Jr. in the future as well. Monado Arts throws a really interesting wrench into the mix, in my opinion.

Also, a certain costume of his makes ZSS's alt costumes seem a little less objectionable.

 

[onlikedonkeykong]

I don't have Smash for Wii U yet but I plan on playing as Little Mac. Ultimately it will depend on who feels the best though.

 

[cot(θ)]

I don't have Smash for Wii U yet but I plan on playing as Little Mac. Ultimately it will depend on who ->feels<- the best though.

I think we all know who that is...

 

[onlikedonkeykong]

Not to sound stupid but who?

 

[cot(θ)]

Not to sound stupid but who?

http://smashboards.com/threads/feeling-it-meme-spam-thread.375138/

Shulk is really feeling it.

 

[Heropon Riki]

This is actually a really funny story but I started liking Shulk and Xenoblade because of the Gematsu Leak! After E3, I thought it was all but confirmed, so I started to look at the characters. I hate Chorus Men to this day, Chrom had potential in reclassing, and I didn't know who Shulk was. I wanted to try the game, so I used a 30-day free trial on Gamefly to rent Xenoblade. I speed ran the game to try to finish it in the month, which made some bosses nightmares. Once I finished it, it felt like a part of my summer day. It became my #1 game of all time, but I don't even own it lol! Now I main Shulk. I only wish Reyn would be saying all of t=his one liners as an assist trophy.

 

[InfinityZERO]

I picked Shulk because Jerm beat me in his tournament while I played Rosaluma. That was before the 1.04 patch. After she got nerfed too hard, I wanted to pick up Shulk because no one ever beat me that badly while I played with Rosaluma.

 

[Turbopasta]

Honestly? He reminds me a lot of Rumble from League of Legends, who was my favorite character right after pre-nerf Skarner.

Rumble's playstyle revolves around him juggling his abilities and cooldowns just enough to get bonus effects, but not enough to overheat him. It's pretty demanding trying to play him to maximum efficiency, but it also made games with him really engaging and satisfying when your efforts actually paid off. He's also somewhat comical, which is fun.

Shulk isn't exactly the same, but it's close enough for me. It's easy for me to keep timers going in my head for monado cooldowns because I'm so used to it from Rumble. My ability to taunt with Rumble also carried over nicely.

But seriously, he's just a very fun character. I like that he is adaptable, and I especially like that his skill ceiling is so high, it makes me feel like I'm learning something and getting better with him every time I play.

Also, DAT RANGE THO.

 

[Capybara Gaming]

Because the Monado is freakin' awesome. And because I always liked Shulk. And because, well frankly, Xenoblade is amazing. And finally, I wanted a nice, fun main.

 

[AlMoStLeGeNdArY]

I thought Shulk could be a strong character so I picked him up. Xenoblade is one of the few RPG's I actually enjoyed so I figured why not. At first I didn't like his moveset. I've come to like it a bit more. His range is ridiculous and his edge guards are pretty good.

 

[CosmicFuzz]

I've never played Xenoblade Chronicles, but after constantly hearing "I'm really feeling it", he grew on me. Then I kept listening to the godlike soundtrack and It made me want to get Xenoblade Chronicles. Now he's one of my top 3 characters to play as.

 

[Opana]

I actually not only am a big fan of the game, but I really enjoy Shulk as a character as well. I know he has very similar traits to other JRPG protagonist, but regardless imo they work for him. Aside from that, I enjoy his abilities in his game and Smash, more thank his party members in his game and he's real high up there in Smash, maybe only behind my main Ganon.

 

[Arti]

I dig characters with long-ranged melee attacks, and his Monado Arts mechanic was very interesting to me.

 

[TrueSapphire]

(Insert a long, long list of pros about Shulk's movesets and Xenoblade you guys said so far)

Thanks of an interview about chuggaaconroy (March 2013?), I bought Xenoblade in September 2013, and it became my new favorite game of all time since then. You could say I'm very obsessed with Xenoblade.

After analyzing Shulk's character, I realized he's surprisingly relatable to me than I thought, so I'm more attached to him. And his movesets is very, very fun! This is the playstyle I wanted in Smash!

 

[Enrel]

Once he was shown his skin with his underroos I had to play as him.

 

[Luviant X]

I love Xenoblade, wanted Shulk to be in, and I LOVE his playstyle in this game. He's very fun.

 

[Mad Zephyr XXVII]

I never played Xenoblade, but I love Shulk in Smash. His manado arts makes him very interesting and personally, it's uncommon for me to be so comfortable with a brand new character. Shulk keeps my interest and I strive to get better and better. I play him more than my main online. I'm even thinking of trying out his game when it comes out.

 

[C0rvus]

He was one of my most wanted newcomers, next to Robin. Since it's become clear that I totally suck at playing Robin, I figured I'd give Shulk a spin. I've had some success playing him in the past. Why not?

 

[DrShankums]

I've never played xenoblade, and never had much interest in it. I am a marth main in melee, so I knew I wanted wanted a swordsman. I went into this smash with the intention of learning 1 specific character really well, since a really great local smasher (probably one of the best of the midwest) did that with charizard in pm. He doesn't even like pm that much, but he put a lot of time into charizard. He told me when I first started melee to pick a main a stick with it, so that's what it did with smash 4. I've got almost 150 hours into shulk and we'll over 4k matches. I really like how versatile shulk is so it hasn't been a chore at all to play only shulk.

 

[TheGuyThatSD]

Ike got nerfed, shulk seems to be the same. Monado was interesting, shulk has plenty of range so that attracted me

 

[RogersBase]

I picked Shulk so I can do this:

 

[Toasters]

...It just kind of happened. I was supposed to be a Villager main but then I played the heck out of him with the demo and wanted to try somebody else. Shulk just kinda clicked for me. He's hella fun, and I feel like as his metagame develops the ride is only gonna get crazier. Really need to keep moving on Xenoblade so I have a chance of finishing before X comes out.

Same thing happened with me. I wanted to main Villager but got burned out by playing him so much in the demo.